Sugar Intake Calculator: Daily Free Sugar Limit

Sugar intake calculator

Short answer

The World Health Organization advises keeping free sugars below 10% of your daily calories, with a further cut to below 5% for extra benefit. On 2,000 kcal a day that is under 50 g, ideally under 25 g. Free sugars are added sugars plus honey, syrups and fruit juice, not the sugar in whole fruit, vegetables or milk.

Last reviewed 28 October 20262 published sourcesNot medical advice

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Free sugars limit calculator

Use your daily calorie intake, or estimate it with the TDEE calculator. Add what you eat in free sugars to see your share.

Enter your daily calorie intake.

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Daily free sugars by calorie intake
Daily calories	Below 10%	Below 5%
1,600 kcal	40 g	20 g
1,800 kcal	45 g	23 g
2,000 kcal	50 g	25 g
2,200 kcal	55 g	28 g
2,500 kcal	63 g	31 g
2,800 kcal	70 g	35 g
3,200 kcal	80 g	40 g

Daily calories

Below 10%

Below 5%

1,600 kcal

40 g

20 g

1,800 kcal

45 g

23 g

2,000 kcal

50 g

25 g

2,200 kcal

55 g

28 g

2,500 kcal

63 g

31 g

2,800 kcal

70 g

35 g

3,200 kcal

80 g

40 g

What the WHO recommends

The World Health Organization's 2015 guideline recommends that adults and children keep free sugars below 10% of total energy intake (a strong recommendation) and suggests a further reduction to below 5% (a conditional one) (WHO, 2015 (sugars)).

The calculator turns calories into grams with the general energy factor of 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate (FAO, 2003 (food energy)).

Start from your calories

If you don't know your daily intake, estimate it with the TDEE calculator. For endurance training days, sugars in sports drinks and gels are part of fuelling; plan them with the carb loading calculator.

Common questions

How much sugar should I eat a day?

The WHO recommends keeping free sugars below 10% of total energy intake and suggests going below 5%. On 2,000 kcal, that is less than 50 g a day, and ideally less than 25 g.

What counts as free sugars?

Sugars added to food and drink by the manufacturer, cook or you, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. Sugars in whole fresh fruit, vegetables and milk are not counted.

Is the 5% limit official?

The 10% limit is a strong WHO recommendation. The 5% level is a conditional recommendation, because the evidence behind it is weaker.

Sources

Figures on this page were checked against these publications on 28 October 2026.

World Health Organization. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2015. www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028

FAO. Food energy – methods of analysis and conversion factors. Report of a technical workshop, Rome, 3–6 December 2002. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 77; 2003. www.fao.org/4/y5022e/y5022e00.htm